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WHOM I SHOULD LOVE ABOVE ALL THINGS

by Sophia de Augustine profile

2023

Web Site

(based on 7 ratings)
3 reviews

About the Story

A priest is confronted with the sudden return of his former lover.

My God, I am sorry for my sins
with all my heart, and I detest them.
In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good,
I have sinned against you, whom I should love above all things.

Made for the Bare Bones Jam.


Game Details


Awards

Entrant - The Bare-Bones Jam

32nd Place (tie), Best in Show - The IF Short Games Showcase 2023

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Number of Reviews: 3
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
A painful exchange of words, November 11, 2023
by manonamora
Related reviews: barebonesjam

Formatted as a kinetic micro play, this entry shows a snippet of a discussion between a priest and a confessor, both having had a shared history. With only a handful of passages, and a relatively short amount of words, the story gives just enough information to understand the dynamics between those two, but leaves enough out to make you wanting more. It is dramatic and painful - for the characters - with the beautiful writing focusing on the little things.

I left the game with so many questions about the characters and their relationships - incl. a chicken and egg one about the priest status and the potential forbidden lover trope. I hope the rest of the piece, from which this one is taken, will be published one day.

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
For I have sinned, July 9, 2024

This is a brief excerpt from a longer work-in-progress that packs a lot into its short space. We, the readers, watch the scene unfold in third person as two long-separated men reunite in a confessional booth. Their dialogue has script-like formatting, most of the work a conversation with brief pauses for description. Said description paints a vivid picture of the two, deftly characterizing them through both their appearances and actions. We’re told none of either one’s backstory or their shared history, but are left to infer it based on their conversation, which is sufficient to provide a strong sense of who each is—Andrey, charming and flippant; Joel, earnest and emotional—and why this reunion matters to them.

The religious aspect is well-employed, both to hint at what drove them apart—Joel is a priest, while Andrey has lost his faith—and to serve as an analogy. The work’s title is taken from a Catholic prayer, which when excerpted at the end is cast in a new light by what we’ve just seen play out. A hint of sacrilege, delightful in the deep meaning it gives their relationship.

There are no choices in the piece; the reader simply clicks a link on each page to continue, with the short length of the pages encouraging you to linger on each, taking in the richness of the writing, processing each beat of this emotionally fraught moment as it unfolds.

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Strong writing, minimal interactivity, mlm romance, January 23, 2024
by MathBrush
Related reviews: less than 15 minutes

This is a short game entered into the Bare Bones jam.

It has no real interactivity and a stripped down interface, but that's kind of not true as it uses text alignment which gives both some variety in link clicking and is visually appealing.

But overall there's really nothing here except the writing. As a lifetime woman stan there's really nothing in mlm stories for me, but the characters were well-written. There is a big focus on concrete details like clothing, appearance, etc. The dialog feels natural, with a back and forth more like what you'd expect in real life or in a back-and-forth part of a play.

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WHOM I SHOULD LOVE ABOVE ALL THINGS on IFDB

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